Conch Close Season a Tool for Sustainability – NFA

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is reminding fishers that the Conch Close Season is a critical tool for managing the sustainability of the sector.

Principal Director for the Fisheries Compliance, Licensing and Statistics Division at the NFA, Dr. Zahra Oliphant, said part of the reason that the NFA is seeking to sustainably manage Jamaica’s conch fishery is to ensure that it does not become endangered.

“It is very important for us to do the requisite research through conch surveys carried out by our capture fisheries division, so we can determine the amount of conch that can be sustainably fished and determine the quota that we give for persons to fish it,” she told JIS News in a recent interview.

“The Close Season is another management tool that allows us to ensure this sustainability. The peak spawning period for conch is in the summer, so that is the reason that the season is closed, starting in the summer, and it reopens early in the following year,” she added.

The NFA announced the commencement of the annual Conch Close Season, which began on August 30, and ends on February 28, 2026.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) lists Queen conch as a threatened species.

Dr. Oliphant said every year the Conch Close Season order is gazetted.

“The season can change depending on what the science shows, as it relates to the abundance [of conch] and that’s why the surveys in advance are so important. During the Close Season, it is very critical that persons do not illegally fish for conch. Doing so is a threat to the entire fishery, and one of the objectives of our legislation, the Fisheries Act of 2018, is to ensure that we are carrying out sustainable management and development for current and future generations. If we want our future generations to be able to eat conch, then naturally we have to protect it in the now,” she said.

In accordance with The Fisheries (Conservation of Queen Conch) (Family Strombidae) Regulations, 2023, under The Fisheries Act, 2018, it is illegal to possess, offer for sale, sell, process or import any conch products or by-products during the Close Season.

For more information, persons can call the National Fisheries Authority at 876-948-9014.